Three Mistakes Parents Make on Their Kids’ Health

What are the most common misconceptions new parents have about their child’s health?

DAVID BLUMENTHAL: The most common misconceptions new parents have about their child’s health relate to how important it is to act early to prevent later health problems that may persist into adulthood. One example is feeding habits and obesity prevention. Some parents believe that it doesn’t matter how much or what you feed your baby, either because overweight babies are seen as “healthy,” or because even if they’re overweight, they’ll “grow out of it.” Many parents don’t realize that risk for obesity starts in infancy (if not sooner), and what/how often they feed their babies does impact whether or not they’ll have a healthy weight later on.

Another common misconception is that children always need medication (particularly antibiotics and cold medicines) when they’re sick. While it’s important to seek medical attention for a fever—particularly in young infants—many conditions causing fever are viral and self-limited, and unnecessary antibiotics and cold medications can do more harm than good. Helping new parents to comprehend when a child needs medication and when they don’t has implications for decreasing antibiotic resistance and adverse medication reactions, as well as for decreasing inappropriate utilization of health care resources.

Finally, the perception among some parents that their children will be better off unvaccinated is one of the most worrisome public-health developments in modern times. Vaccines are safe and effective, and they are one of the most important positive health care interventions in the history of humankind. Parents owe their children protection against dangerous, preventable illnesses like measles, mumps, chicken box, diphtheria, tetanus and polio that have killed and crippled children for millennia.

Dr. David Blumenthal (@DavidBlumenthal) is the president and CEO of the Commonwealth Fund, a national health-care philanthropy based in New York.